Who's Who on Obama's Dream Team

Obama's Economic and Health Leaders

Obama announced his economic team Nov. 24, including his selection of Timothy J. Geithner to be secretary of treasury. At the time, Geithner was president of the New York Federal Reserve and well-known on Wall Street, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average soared almost 500 points Nov. 21 when the news of Obama's pick leaked out. Similarities between Geithner and the President are clear at every turn. Geithner was confirmed on Jan. 26, 2009 after relatively tough confirmation proceedings. The Senate voted 60-34 in Geithner's favor after examining questions about his failure to pay the correct amount of taxes on time, and employing a housekeeper whose work authorization had expired.

Obama had paged CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta for the post of surgeon general in early January. But Obama never made an official announcement and Gupta said he was taking himself out of the running in early March. CNN cited his desire to continue working instead as a neurosurgeon and CNN medical analyst. At the time, Gupta's wife was pregnant with their third child.

Obama's third pick for Commerce Secretary is former Washington governor Gary Locke, the first Chinese-American governor in the country. The president's first pick, New Mexico governor Bill Richardson, bowed out on Jan. 4, 2009, amid questions about whether he played any part in a "pay-to-play" scheme. Obama's second choice, Republican senator Judd Gregg likewise withdrew from consideration on Feb. 12, 2009, citing differences over policy with the Obama White House. The Senate vote to confirm Locke for the job on March 24, 2009.

On Dec. 19, 2008, Obama announced his selection of Rep. Hilda Solis, D-Calif., for secretary of labor. In early January, Solis told the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee that, at the helm of the Labor Department, she would give priority to fair pay, retirement security and investing in work force development and job growth. One of seven children whose mother emigrated from Nicaragua and whose father worked as a Teamsters shop steward, Solis said, "My passion for improving opportunities for middle-class Americans is the product of my life story." Senators voted 80-17 Feb. 24 to confirm Solis for the position. Solis, from east Los Angeles, became a U.S. House representative in 2001 after many years as a California state lawmaker. She became California's first Latina state senator in 1994.

Barack Obama tapped 81-year-old Paul Volcker to chair the President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board, which will be responsible for offering independent, non-partisan economic analysis and advice to Obama. Volcker served as Federal Reserve Chairman under presidents Carter and Reagan. He has been criticized for driving up interest rates during his time but is also known for cutting inflation. One of Obama's top economic advisors during the campaign, Volcker has been a staunch proponent of government regulation. Austan Goolsbee, an economics professor at the University of Chicago, will serve as Staff Director and Chief Economist of the Recovery Advisory Board and act as the primary liaison between the Board and the Administration.

Larry Summers has been picked to lead Obama's National Economic Council. Summers was Treasury secretary under Clinton and became president of Harvard University after leaving Treasury in 2001. He resigned from his post at Harvard a year after making a controversial speech about women's success in math and science careers.

Before serving in the Clinton administration, Summers was one of the youngest tenured professors in Harvard's history, served as chief economist of the World Bank, and worked as an economic adviser in the Reagan administration. Summers' appointment to the National Economic Council does not require Senate confirmation.

To lead the Council of Economic Advisers, which is in the executive office of the president, Obama selected Christina Romer. Romer is a well-respected economist and economics professor at the University of California at Berkeley. Previous chairs of the Council of Economic Advisers include Ben Bernanke, Greg Mankiw, Laura D'Andrea Tyson, and Alan Greenspan.

Obama also announced that Melody Barnes would be director of the Domestic Policy Council. Barnes was the executive vice president for policy at the Center for American Progress. She has also served as Sen. Edward Kennedy's chief counsel on the Senate Judiciary Committee and as the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's director of legislative affairs.

Dallas' first black mayor, Ron Kirk, was confirmed by the Senate on March 18 to be U.S. trade representative. Kirk ran an unsuccessful campaign for the Senate in 2002, but lost to Republican John Cornyn. Kirk, a native Texan, has had a lengthy political career, having served as secretary of state in the administration of former Gov. Ann Richards and as a lobbyist on behalf of the city of Dallas to the Texas legislature. After stepping down as mayor, Kirk worked for the Houston-based law firm Vinson and Elkins, which represents several airline companies and lobbied Congress for the Dallas Area Rapid Transit and Southwest Airlines.

On March 2, Obama announced his selection of Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius to be the nation's next secretary of Health and Human Services. Sebelius is the president's second choice for the position. Obama named her for the job after former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., withdrew his nomination. Daschle's exit came after the public learned he'd failed to pay more than $120,000 in taxes.

On March 2, Obama also announced Nancy-Ann DeParle as his pick for director of the White House Office for Health Reform. The president had originally intended to have Daschle fill both posts.

The HHS Secretary will guide critical, high-profile federal agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the National Institutes of Health. Before serving as governor of Kansas, Sebelius also served as a two-term state insurance commissioner, helped draft a proposed national bill of rights for patients and served as the president of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.